How to Beat Zapdos

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If you are looking for the best ways to defeat Zapdos in Pokemon Go, you've come to the right place! This guide will teach you how to successfully win battles against Zapdos by exploiting its Type weakness(es).

In addition, it is equally as important to choose the optimal Pokemon and Movesets to take advantage of those weaknesses. This will allow you to to deal maximum damage during battle and defeat Zapdos quickly and easily.

How to Beat Zapdos

To defeat Zapdos in Pokemon Go you must take advantage of its Type Weakness(es). Being a Electric/Flying Type, Zapdos is vulnerable against Rock and Ice Type Moves.

This guide lists the best Pokemon and best Movesets you should use in order to defeat Zapdos as effectively and as efficiently as possible.

Before we get into the details of this guide, please see below. The following is a simple step by step guide/checklist on how to defeat Zapdos. If you would like more information surrounding terminology, specific Pokemon, Movesets, DPS, etc. feel free to check out the rest of this guide.

5 Simple Tips to Defeat Zapdos

Tip #1. CP (Combat Power) Advantage

Choose Pokemon with equal or higher CP than that of the Zapdos you are battling. If your CP advantage is high enough, the next steps will not be as important in battle. Zapdos can have up to a maximum of 3330 CP.

Tip #2. Use Move Types Zapdos is Weak Against

Taking advantage of the Type Weakness(es) of Zapdos will allow you to deal more damage during battle. Zapdos is weak against the following Types:

For example, Bulbasaur using a Grass Move, Charmander using a Fire Move or Squirtle using a Water Move will deal 25% more damage simply because the Pokemon is the same Type as the Move it is using. You can find out more about damage mechanics at the end of this page.

Tip #4. Choose the Best Type(s) of Pokemon

Dealing additional damage, while taking reduced damage is important in defeating Zapdos. Avoid using Types of Pokemon Zapdos Moves are Super Effective against, instead try to use Types of Pokemon of which Zapdos Moves are Not Very Effective against.

Taking advantage of the Type Weakness(es) of Zapdos and the STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) of your own Pokemon will allow you to deal a great amount of damage during battle. Zapdos will go down quickly if the optimal Pokemon & Movesets are used.

You can learn more about high damage Movesets at the end of this guide: Section IV. Best Pokemon & Movesets to use against Zapdos in battle.

Thank you for reading. If you would like further or more detailed information on how to defeat Zapdos please continue reading the rest of this guide. If you have questions, comments, or tips of your own, feel free to leave a message in the comment section at the end of this guide!

I. Zapdos Type Weaknesses

To defeat Zapdos you must first learn its Type weaknesses. Using specific Types of Moves that Zapdos is weak against will result in those Moves dealing Super Effective damage (25% damage bonus).

Zapdos is a Electric/Flying Type Pokemon, which means it is weak against the following Move Type(s) and will be vulnerable to the following damage multipliers:

Next we must identify Moves of the above Types. This is important as Moves that are Super Effective deal 25% additional damage. If a Pokemon has a double weakness, the Move will deal 56% additional damage.

In order to defeat Zapdos you will want to choose a Pokemon with Move Types Zapdos is vulnerable against. The moves of these types are shown below:

Before we go any further, please take a minute to consider the following. Most of this guide is focused on dealing high amounts of damage in a short period of time, in order to beat Zapdos as quickly as possible.

However, it is important to note that defensive Type weaknesses play an important role in Pokemon Go battles as well.

First off, Zapdos can deal a great amount of damage using Thunder Shock and Thunder. This is especially true if you are using Pokemon that are weak against these Move Type(s). The damage per second and ranking of this moveset is shown below.

While Thunder Shock and Thunder is a strong Moveset, most of Zapdos's Moves will deal additional damage if used against certain Types of Pokemon as they will take increased damage from Zapdos. Depending on the particular Moveset of the Zapdos you are battling against, you will want to try and avoid using Pokemon of the following Types.

On the other hand, there are certain Types of Pokemon in Pokemon Go, that will take less damage from the Moves of Zapdos. Therefore, to survive longer during Gym battles you will want to try and use Pokemon of the below Types when battling against Zapdos.

It is important to note that this is not the only factor in choosing the optimal Pokemon to defeat Zapdos. If you have a Pokemon with much higher CP and a high damage Moveset vs. Zapdos you will obviously want to use that Pokemon. You will be able to win the battle quickly before your opponent has even had a chance to deal much damage.

However, if you are using a Pokemon with average CP and an average moveset, choosing the right Type of Pokemon becomes much more important.

IV. Benefits of Type Weakness & STAB Damage

Getting back to the offensive side of battling, the next step is to identify which Pokemon have the capability of using Super Effective Moves against Zapdos.

Furthermore, we must identify Pokemon that are the same Type as the Moves they are using. This will result in an added 25% additional damage bonus, commonly referred to as STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus).

If you are new to Pokemon Go or to the damage mechanics in general, be sure to review the chart below before making your way to Section V. (Best Pokemon Movesets vs. Zapdos). It explains how Pokemon Go DB determines the best damage Moveset/Pokemon to beat Zapdos.

The following chart explains the terms used in this guide:

Battle Mechanics Terminology (Quick Reference Guide)

DPS

DPS stands for Damage per Second. The DPS of each Move is calculated by taking the Power of a Move and dividing it by the time (seconds) it takes to actually perform the move (also known as a cooldown).

STAB

STAB stands for Same Type Attack Bonus. When a Pokemon uses a Move that is the same Type as itself that Move will deal additional bonus damage. For example, if a Electric Type Pokemon uses a Electric Type Move it will deal 25% more damage.

Best Fast Move

The Best Fast Move is calculated by taking the highest DPS Fast Move a Pokemon is capable of using. This includes the 25% STAB bonus. Generally every Pokemon in Pokemon Go will have one of two possible Fast Moves.

Best Charge Move

The Best Charge Move is calculated by taking the highest DPS Charge Move a Pokemon is capable of using. This includes the 25% STAB bonus. Generally every Pokemon in Pokemon Go will have one of three possible Charge Moves.

Best Fast Move DPS vs. Zapdos

Best Fast Move DPS vs. Zapdos is calculated by taking the Best Fast Move DPS w/ STAB and multiplying that DPS by 1.25 if Zapdos has a single weakness to that Type or multiplying that DPS by 1.56 if Zapdos has a double weakness to that Type.

Best Charge Move DPS vs. Zapdos

Best Charge Move DPS vs. Zapdos is calculated by taking the Best Charge Move DPS w/ STAB and multiplying that DPS by 1.25 if Zapdos has a single weakness to that Type or multiplying that DPS by 1.56 if Zapdos has a double weakness to that Type.

Average DPS

Average DPS is simply the average of the Best Fast Move DPS vs. Zapdos and the Best Charge Move DPS vs. Zapdos. The chart is then sorted by highest Average DPS to lowest.

V. Best Pokemon & Movesets to use against Zapdos in battle.

The following chart lists the top Pokemon/Moveset against Zapdos. The list is sorted by highest Average Damage per Second to lowest. Type Effectiveness and STAB play a big role in increasing the damage that is done to Zapdos. If you follow every step in this guide, you will have a much easier time defeating Zapdos. Good Luck!